Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Forever Maxi Orange Glow.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Forever Maxi Orange Glowxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Ashtabula, Ohio. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely-branching and freely-flowering Kalanchoe cultivars with attractive leaf and flower coloration.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in November, 1996 of a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana identified as code number 93-223-8, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Tico Orange, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,997, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Forever Maxi Orange Glow was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Ashtabula, Ohio.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal vegetative cuttings taken at Ashtabula, Ohio, since October, 1997, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Forever Maxi Orange Glow has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Forever Maxi Orange Glowxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Forever Maxi Orange Glowxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright, uniform and dense plant habit.
2. Freely branching growth habit.
3. Numerous large dark orange red-colored flowers.
4. Dark green-colored leaves.
5. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe differ from plants of the female parent selection primarily in plant habit and flower color.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can be compared to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Tico Orange. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Lompoc, Calif., plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Tico Orange in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were taller and more upright than plants of the cultivar Tico Orange.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had darker green-colored lateral branches than plants of the cultivar Tico Orange.
3. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Tico Orange.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can also be compared to plants of the Kalanchoe cultivar Nevada, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Lompoc, Calif., plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Nevada in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were shorter, but broader than plants of the cultivar Nevada.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had darker green-colored lateral branches than plants of the cultivar Nevada.
3. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had broader and more rounded leaves than plants of the cultivar Nevada.
4. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Nevada.
5. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was slightly darker than flower color of plants of the cultivar Nevada.